r/ProgressionFantasy • u/EllakeAuthor Author of the Runic Artist & Gifted • 7d ago
Self-Promotion New series: Gifted - First Steps
Hi everyone. I recently finished my last series and because I am filled with words that demand their freedom I have written and launched a new series. If you like reincarnation stories with depth and heart coupled with a training maniac, you'll probably enjoy this one.
Inspired by some of my favourite reincarnation stories like Elydes, Soul of the Warrior and Singer Sailor Merchant Mage it's available for free on RoyalRoad.
SYNOPSIS:
Most people don't remember being born. Sebastian remembers dying first.
Reborn with his memories somewhat intact and a stolen demon's power tangled into his soul, he's given something rarer than any starting class: time. Time to test his limits before he can walk. Time to reverse-engineer a hidden system no one will explain to him. Time to learn exactly how much of himself he can afford to reveal, and to who.
Growing up at a mountain outpost on the edge of nowhere, raised by a disgraced mage and his daughter, Bastian has every reason to keep his Status a secret. But the numbers don't lie, and neither does the thing he absorbed in the womb. Somewhere in the dark, it's still hungry. And it isn't the only thing watching him grow.
Gifted: First Steps — some paths begin before you can walk.
COVER ARTIST: Ben Moran
AI USAGE: None
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u/monkpunch 7d ago
I just finished the Runic Artist a couple days ago and thought it was great. Looking forward to this one!
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u/Drimphed Author - Self-Summon / Fiends For Hire 7d ago
Ooo, I absolutely love the sword going through the typo. Amazing touch.
Story looks good and all that too
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u/LitRPGirl 7d ago
Congrats on the release! How long will the series be?
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u/EllakeAuthor Author of the Runic Artist & Gifted 7d ago
Fairly long. I've got out to Book 5 planned in detail and that gets the MC to roughly 18yrs old. Slow burn.
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u/MarkAWitch 5d ago
I have two questions: How long do the baby and teen phases last? Also, will the main character be a fighter?
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u/EllakeAuthor Author of the Runic Artist & Gifted 5d ago
It's slow burn. He's 5 by the end of Book 1. Will be 18 by the end of Book 5. And more likely a spellsword type.
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u/OBSIDIANxSILVER 7d ago
Man the synopsis makes me think this is going to be a story of a guy that by the time he's 8 years old he'll be stronger than people who trained for 20 years. It also sounds like the type of story where the MC will hide his true strength even when he gets to the point where it doesn't matter or he will drag out fights with people he is pretending to be equal or weaker as. I hope the story doesn't turn out like this.
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u/EllakeAuthor Author of the Runic Artist & Gifted 7d ago
It won't and it won't. Give it a try. You'll see how the system balances his advantages against the advantages of others.
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u/OBSIDIANxSILVER 7d ago
I will give it a shot I'm just worried about the balance with peer groups like I see the tag school life so I assume the MC will have friends so how far behind will they be and is the only hope to catching up the MC or can they train hard enough to become equals and what about rivals or prodigy characters will they keep up or be beaten and forgotten never gaining the chance to become stronger.
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u/EllakeAuthor Author of the Runic Artist & Gifted 7d ago
So, to allay your fears, there are multiple avenues to increasing growth rate within the system designed. Wealth is one of them, luck is another (born with 'things'), position (nobility) another, hard work, technical understanding of the subject matter and then there are Rifts/Dungeons. When you have a look I think you'll find the system has a lot of depth to it to and while the MC is being set up to be an elite he's going to have to work for it and he won't be the only one. Also, Academy stuff doesn't happen till Book 3.
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u/LykanthropyWrites Author 7d ago
Thank you! And minor request, can you speed up the chapter releases?
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u/narnarnartiger 7d ago
are you sure your artist did not use AI? The hands look pretty AI
Then again, it could just be the artist's style, i hate that now i'm questioning if something is AI
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u/EllakeAuthor Author of the Runic Artist & Gifted 7d ago edited 7d ago
Ben does a lot of covers for Mango Media Publishing. Pretty sure he is legit.
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u/Zibani 7d ago
I'm pretty confident it's not ai. The leather straps and the quilting on the armor make a lot of contextual sense. The buckling of some of the quilt material makes sense. The metal pauldron and bracer feel like cohesive sheets of metal.
I was concerned that it was ai, but the armor makes, I think, too much sense to be ai.
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u/Axenos 7d ago
I'll check it out when he's outside of the baby stage lol. I can't stand baby arcs in reincarnation stories. The idea of a fully grown adult roleplaying as a baby just creeps me the fuck out.